CROPfm Forum

A U.S. government compilation of interviews and other public statements issued by Usama bin Laden between 1994 and 2004 is now publicly available (pdf).

The texts were translated by the CIA’s Foreign Broadcast Information Service, which since been succeeded by the Open Source Center.

The 289-page collection has not been approved for public release, but a copy was obtained by Secrecy News. See “Compilation of Usama Bin Laden Statements, 1994 - January 2004,” Foreign Broadcast Information Service, January 2004.

Eine Formel für die Weltherrschaft, ein geheimer Anschlags-Code und Grüße von den Taliban: Auch dieses Jahr haben al-Qaida & Co. ein Propagandafeuerwerk zum 9/11-Jahrestag abgefackelt. Das Herzstück - ein von al-Qaida angekündigter Film - fiel jedoch mysteriöserweise aus.

Am Jahrestag des 11. September 2001 geht es al-Qaida stets um eines: Das Terrornetzwerk tut alles, um seinen Sympathisanten zu suggerieren, dass seine Macht und Kapazität unbegrenzt sind.

Seven years ago this week, more than 3,000 people were killed in a horrific terrorist attack on America.

This prompted the US to launch its global "war on terror" by attacking Al-Qaeda strongholds in Afghanistan and invading Iraq.

Although the last chapter of the Iraq war has not been written, many observers think the Iraq war is the greatest strategic disaster in American military history even worse than Vietnam.

Critics say the post-Cold War military illusions and President Bush's personal ideology after 9/11 provided the foundation for the US' misguided strategies on the Iraq war.

Supporters, however, claim the war turned bad because of errors in judgement due to poor planning and co-ordination. They say what is more important is the final outcome.

How did 9/11 shape American military policies in the invasion of Iraq? And what lessons have the US learned from the Iraq war?

Our guests this week are Raanan Gissin, former adviser to the Israeli Prime Minister and Abdel Bari Atwan editor-in-chief of Al-Quds Alarabi.